Star Wars is popular. That goes without question; even after the prequal trilogy, Jar Jar Binks and even the divisiveness of The Last Jedi, the fandom is stll very strong. A key point to the popularity of Star Wars has been, from the very beginning, the toys. Beside a brief lapse from the late 1980’s to about 1994, Star Wars has always had toys on the shelves. We rarely, however, see the toys produced for other regions of the globe, particularly Japan. The popularity of Star Wars is so worldwide, Japanese companies also licensed out the brand to produced their own figures. Usually they are action figures, just more detailed and intricate. Sometimes they are Bishoujo statues of female characters from the Expanded Universe. But sometimes, something uniquely Japanese is produced that still works so well.

Anyone with an interest in the history behind Star Wars knows that Lucas was partly influenced by Japanese culture and Cinema. The Force had elements of Eastern mysticism, the Jedi had a samurai vibe, Darth Vader’s outfit evoked the stylized armour of Samurai lords and the movie itself was influenced by Akira Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress. So that is why combining the look for some of the character’s armours and reimagining them as samurai works so well. That is the basis behind Bandai’s Tamashii Nations Movie Realization Star Wars figures. This review will be looking at the Onmitsu Shadowtrooper.

“Onmitsu” is a Japanese term meaning spy. The Shadowtrooper, in Star Wars canon, were specialized Stormtroopers assigned to the Imperial Intelligence for security and espionage. This figure combine the two, giving us an all black samurai stormtrooper that would scout out ahead to identify threats. The figure stand about 7 inches tall, made from a sturdy plastic. The figure is black, with some white wash to accent the design in the helmet and armour. The figure is well articulated, with a wide range of motion at the head, shoulders and legs due to ball joints. The elbows bend at more than 90 degrees and the knees are double jointed as well. The ankles are movable up and down and left to right, but there is not much of an ankle pivot. Lastly, he is articulated at the wrist and can rotate and bend in and out at the joint. The hands are removable (more on that later). Overall, he has a good deal of posablity , though ankle pivot and a bicep swivel would improve it.

Whitewash brings out the design on the black plastic.

For accessories, he comes with spare hands, a sword with a sheath, throwing knives and a blaster. Besides the hands that come on him in box (closed fists) he has several hands with each stile comes for the left and right. He has hands for holding the pistol, with the finger on the trigger; a set of holding hands for the sword; a set of more open hands for holding the blaster at the barrel or even the sheath; and, a set of holding hands for the small throwing knives. The sword, which I believe is a wakizashi, has a silver blade and guard, with a black hilt with a silver pommel. The sheath is flat black with no distinguishing marks. The blaster combines the look of the standard Imperial blaster with the look of a flintlock pistol, with a movable handle. It is done in a gun metal grey and black paint scheme. Finally, the throwing knives (kunai, if I am not mistaken) are done in a slightly shiny black, with a purpleish handle. Out of the accessories, the blaster is the best part.

The wakizashi can go into the sheath and the sheath can go on the belt.The blaster is nicely doneHands are interchangeable so the figure can hold different accessories

The figure is well designed and is sturdy. Too often, import toys see so fragile, with them feeling that they would break even if you just change the accessories that you want to display them with. Other times, the exchangeable hands tend to fall off easily and get lost. With the Onmitsu Shadowtrooper, you don’t get that feeling. The hands stay on the peg and you can turn them and put in accessories without it falling off. You can pose this figure without fear of breaking it, unless you try to move a joint in a direction it was not meant to go and force it real hard.

You can fit in the accessories without the hands falling off.The tighter gripping hand is meant for the kunai knives

Scale wise, if you have any of the Star Wars Black 6 inch scale figures, the Onmitsu Stormtrooper would tower over them. Sure, Leia says that they are tall, but not that tall! They are definitely bigger that some, if not all S.H. Figurarts figures, which are also made by Bandai. IT would go good with other 7 inch figures, such as some of NECA’s s stuff like Aliens or even Mattel’s Masters of the Universe Classics. For theme-wise, I’d place them with the Aliens.

The figure is large compared to those in the Black SeriesComparison with the S.H. Figurarts Injustice Harley Quinn, also by BandaiNext to Mezco One:12 Suicide Squad Harley Quinn

This is a great albeit pricy figure. This is the cheapest one, running at about $99 Canadian, with some online sites having it on sale for around $94. Other figures in this line run about $110.00, with aftermarket prices higher for older figures. They can be found at some comic game and hobby shops around the world. In Canada, they are available at EB Games/EBX, with assortment and availability varying by store.

Who has the power?

I hope you enjoyed my review. I hope to do more reviews on toys, games, movies and anime in the near future.

This Review is for entertainment purposes only. I have not received anything from Bandai, Lucasfilm, Disney, EB Games, or any person, group or the Empire for this review This item was purchased by me with my own funds. All opinions are mine and any pictures were taken by me for review purposes.